Two-stage gas regulator



June 23, 1959 M. H. GOODNER TWO-STAGE GAS REGULATOR Filed May 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I40b. 32 9o i 32 I46 I40 lOb lOb

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INVENTOR. Monroe Harry Goodner ATTORNEYS United States Patent M TWO-STAGE GAS REGULATOR Monroe Harry Goodner, Red Bank, N.J., assignor to Stephenson Corporation, Red Bank, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 27, 1955, Serial No. 511,502

2 Claims. (Cl. 137.505.12)

This invention relates to a pressure regulating valve and particularly to one capable of receiving gas at a high pressure, for example, 2000 lbs. or more, and delivering it at a steady pressure which is substantially lower, for example, approximately 22 lbs.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved device of the above mentioned kind.

Another object is to provide such a device which will require a minimum of space and yet be fully practical for operating in conjunction with resuscitators, inhalators, and the like.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a gas pressure regulator embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view showing a modification of part of the device; and

Figure 4 is a similar View of another modification of the said part of the device.

A device made in accordance with this invention comprises high and intermediate gas pressure chambers intercommunicating through primary valve means and a W pressure chamber communicating with the intermediate pressure chamber through secondary valve means, providing Z-stage reduction in gas pressure with the discharge pressure remaining substantially constant regardless of changes in the pressure of the gas supplied to the device.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated herein comprises a central body portion 10 which is recessed to provide spaces as will be described, and upper and lower circular housing members 12 and 14. Body portion 10 has upwardly extending circular flange 10a and a downwardly extended circular flange 10b, and said housing members are screw threadedly engaged with flanges respectively to provide a closure. Supported at its periphery between flange 10a and housing member 12 is a flexible diaphragm 16 which extends over the space 18 within flange 10a. Supported at its periphery between flange 10b and housing member 14 is an annular flexible diaphragm 20 which extends partly over the space 22 within the downwardly projecting flange 10b and coacts with a member 24 which interconnects the primary and secondary valves, and, together with valve means to be described occupies the'central opening in said annular diaphragm 20. Diaphragms 16 and 20 may be made of any suitable flexible material, for example, cloth-reinforced neoprene.

Body portion 10 has the inlet 26 which communicates through passage 28 with a high pressure chamber 3.0a comprising the upper portion of recess 30 which extends upwardly from the lower surface of body portion 10. and comprises three portions 30b, 30c and 30d of successively decreasing diameters. The. high pressure chamber 30a communicates with an intermediate pressure chamber 34 through a conduit 32 which, as illustrated herein, is a said 2,891,569 Patented June 23, 1959 ICC tubular jet member which forms part of the secondary valve means to be described and has the radially projecting circular head 32b which is screwed into the portion d of recess 30 and the radial flange 32a, which fits into the portion 300 of recess 30.

Conduit 32 is opened and closed by primary valve member 36 which is movable toward and away from the lower end of said conduit. Said primary valve member is cup shaped and is floatingly supported by being suspended from the inner periphery of diaphragm 20. The cup shaped valve member 36 has a radially extending flange 36a which overlaps the inner periphery of said diaphragm and is riveted or otherwise secured to it. The intermediate or bottom portion 36b constitutes a valve seat for the lower end of jet conduit 32 and through it extend passages 360 which communicate between the spaces 34a and 34b, above and below primary valve member 36, which together constitute the intermediate pressure chamber 34. Portion 36b of the primary valve is press fitted into place and anchors the lower end of member 24 between itself and a recessed portion 37 of the cylindrical wall of member 36.

From the intermediate pressure chamber 34 gas passes through the secondary valve means to the low pressure chamber which comprises the space 22, defined by the downwardly extending body flange 10b which is above annular diaphragm 20 and member 24, the outlet 38 and the passages 22a which intercommunicate between said space 22 and the outlet, and also the space 18 defined by the upwardly projecting circular body flange 10a, and the passages 18a which intercommunicate between said space and said outlet 38.

The secondary valve means comprises the hollow cylindrical member 40 which surrounds the stem portion of said jet conduit 32 leaving sufficient spacebetween its inner tubular wall surface and the outer surface. of said jet conduit to provide. a passage 41 extending from the portion 34a of the intermediate pressure chamber to the top surface of the radially extending flange portion 40a of member 40. Member 40 is connected to said upper diaphragm 16 by the rigid links or parts 42 which pass through the bores 44 respectively, which extend through body portion 10 and are large enough to permit members 42 to move freely up anddown in accordance with movements of diaphragm 16.

Diaphragm 16 is subjected on its upper surface to atmospheric pressure. It moves up and down in response to changes in pressure differential between atmospheric pressure and the pressure in the low pressure chamber, and being connected, by members 42 to secondary valve Inem-v ber 40 it Opens and closes said valve means inv accordance with its movements.

On the upper surface of the flange portion 40a of secondary valve member 40 is a circular contact ridge 46, and it is substantially opposed to a downwardly extending circular contact ridge 48, on the under surface of the said jet flange 30c, and between said contact ridges 46 and 48 is an annular washer-like member 50, preferably made of resilient material such as neoprene which serves. as a double valve seat for said ridges which are adapted to press into the resilient surface of member 50. Said Washer-like member 50 surrounds the stem portion of said jet conduit 32; and its central opening 5 is wide enough to provide a gas passage between the inner periphery of member 50 and the shank of said jet. Thus it will be seen that gas from the intermediate chamber respectively of said washer-like member, and fiow of gas from the intermediate pressure chamber to the low pressure chamber will be cut off. However, when valve member 40 is unseated by downward movement of said diaphragm 16 gas from the intermediate chamber may flow to the low pressure chamber over said washer-like member, between it and said ridge 48, and also below said member 50, between it and the ridge 46 if the gas pressure in the intermediate chamber is suflicient to lift the weight of member 50. The secondary valve means thus comprises a valve seat fioatingly mounted between a fixed and a movable contact surface. This construction has the advantage that it is easy to assemble and eliminates the difiiculty which has been encountered when it has been attempted to cement valve seat material into a recess provided in one valve member in opposed relation to a contact ridge on another valve member.

It will also be noted that the secondary valve means is substantially balanced, the areas within the ridges 46 and 48 subject to pressure tending to open the valve means being substantially equal to the area of member 24 and the lower end of 40 subject to pressure tending to close the valve means.

The member 24, shown in Figure 1, which coacts with diaphragm 20 to partition the intermediate pressure chamber from the low pressure chamber and permits relative movement between said members 36 and 40, is a flexible sleeve connected at one end to the secondary valve member 40 and at the other end to primary valve member 36. Member 24 however does not function in the ordinary way as a sleeve. Instead it has a portion 2411 turned over and extending down and around another portion 24a. The free margin of portion 24a is drawn over the lower end of secondary valve member 46, held there by its own elasticity reinforced by the stiffening member 25 and the pressure in chamber 34. The free margin of portion 24b is engaged between the cylindrical wall of valve member 36 and its bottom or valve seat portion 36b. The length of the sleeve portions change, one lbecoming shorter as the other becomes longer, as the primary valve member 36 moves toward and away from the bottom of jet member 32, and as secondary valve member 40 moves toward and away from the closed position. As illustrated, the portions 24a and 24b have a considerable overlap extending upwardly in the annular space between the outside of the stem of secondary valve member 40 and the inside of the cup-shaped primary valve 36. The overlapped portions are concentric and closely spaced, and they occupy much less space transversely of the device than would be required by a flat flexible diaphragm which would permit the same amount of relative movement between valve members 36 and 46. Employment of member 24 thus makes it possible to reduce the device both in size and weight, which are important considerations especially when the device is used with apparatus which must frequently be carried by hand, as in the case of resuscitation apparatus employed in answering emergency calls.

As shown herein the upper diaphragm 16 carries the plate 60, which has the externally threaded tubular neck 60a extending upwardly through the center of the diaphragm, and the annular plate or washer 62 which rests on the diaphragm, members 60 and 62 being clamped to the opposite surfaces of diaphragm 10 by the nut 64 which is screwed on said tubular neck 60a.

The links or posts 42 which interconnect valve member 40 and diaphragm 16 project downwardly from plate 60 and are thus floatingly supported by diaphragm 16. Diaphragm 16 is biased by coil spring 66 to initially hold valve member 46 down away from its closed position allowing gas supplied through the high pressure chamber to the intermediate pressure chamber to flow into the low pressure chamber until pressure is built up in the low pressure chamber sufficiently to overcome the force of atmospheric pressure acting on diaphragm 16, and the bias of spring 66 and to elevate diaphragm 16, thus causing valve member 40 to close. As shown herein the upper housing member 12 has an outwardly extending tubular projection 12a screw threaded on its exterior surface to receive the cap 68, and coil spring 66 is disposed within the closure or fourth chamber thus provided with one end fitting around the neck 66a and resting on plate 62 and the other end fitting in and abutting against the spring retaining member '70 located in the upper end of said closure and held from turning by screw 72 the shank of which extends through a threaded bore 74 in cap 68 and is engaged in the interiorly threaded bore 76 in member 70. The tension which spring 66 exerts on the diaphragm 16 may be varied by turning cap 68, the exterior surface 69 of which is knurled. To limit the range of adjustment and prevent the discharge pressure being inadvertently raised to an undesired level a projection 71 is provided on member 70 which after a permitted range of adjustment acts as a stop by abutting against the upper end of member 12. By adjusting the force which spring 66 exerts on diaphragm 16, thereby determining the length of time pressure is allowed to build up in the low pressure chamber, the pressure at which gas is discharged from the device may be raised within a range limited by said stop 71. Vents 78 are provided in the upper housing 12 to maintain the pressure above diaphragm 16 at xx atmosphere which is assumed to be lower than the pressure at which the gas is to be used.

Figure 3 shows a modification of the means which c0- acts with annular diaphragm 20 to complete the partition between the intermediate and low pressure chambers while permitting relative movement between the primary and secondary valve members. The means shown is an O- ring 80 loosely retained in a recess 82, in a secondary valve 140, opening in the direction of primary valve member 36 so that the O-ring provides a seal between members 140 and 36 while permitting relative movement of said members.

The ridge 146 on flange portion 140a of secondary valve member 140 is spaced nearer to jet conduit 32 around the passage 141 the upper end of which is flared to provide a gas space within ridge 146 substantially equal to the area of the lower end of valve member 140 to substantially balance the gas pressure forces tending to seat and to unseat the secondary valve.

In Figure 4 a Sylphon is provided intermediate the primary and secondary valve members 36 and 1441b respectively, as a substitute for member 24 shown in Figure l, and the O-ring 8% in the recess 82 as shown in Figure 3. Sylphon 90 folds or elongates as required by the relative movements of said valve members 36 and i) and at all times coacts with annular diaphragm 20 to partition the intermediate pressure chamber 34 from the low pressure chamber.

Operation Gas delivered at high pressure into inlet 26 as from a cylinder (not shown) passes through passage 28 to high pressure chamber 30a, and then through jet conduit 32 to the space beneath said jet member, member 24 (or substitute members 80 or 90), and annular diaphragm 20, into which it expands thus reducing its pressure to an amount intermediate the pressure at which the gas is received and the pressure at which it is discharged by the device.

The secondary valve means is initially held open, due to the biasing effect of spring 66 acting on valve member 40 through diaphragm 16, and gas flows through the secondary valve to the low pressure chamber until the pressure therein builds up sufliciently to overcome the force of atmosphere plus the biasing force of spring 66 and elevate diaphragm 16 and thereby move valve member 40 to its uppermost position and close the secondary valve.

Pressure now builds up in the intermediate pressure chamber until the force acting on the under surface of primary valve member 36 and the annular diaphragm 20 elevates member 36 until its center portion seats over the lower end of the jet conduit and thus temporarily cuts off the flow of gas from the high pressure chamber. Since gas continues to discharge through outlet 38 the pressure in the low pressure chamber falls, allowing spring 66 to force down diaphragm 16 and valve member 40, thus again opening the secondary valve, and the renewed flow from the intermediate pressure chamber in turn reduces the pressure in the intermediate chamber allowing the primary valve member to move away from the lower end of jet conduit 32 thus renewing the flow of gas from the high pressure chamber to the intermediate pressure chamber. By adjusting cap 68 the pressure at which gas is discharged may be raised or lowered within an intentionally limited range by controlling the pressure level in the low pressure chamber and the device operates to maintain said pressure level substantially constant even though the pressure of the gas supplied to the device varies from 2000 lbs. per sq. in. or more down to approximately the discharge pressure for which the device is set, which make for a pressure only slightly in excess of atmospheric pressure such for example as 22 lbs. per sq. in.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention an apparatus in which the various objects hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. As various possible embodiments might be made of the mechanical features of the above invention and as the art herein described might be varied in various parts, all without departing from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

1. A gas pressure regulator comprising, a casing having therein, a high pressure chamber adapted for connection to a supply conduit, an intermediate pressure chamber, 21 low pressure chamber adapted for connection to an outlet conduit and intended in operation to have a pressure greater than atmospheric, and a fourth chamher subject to atmospheric pressure, a jet conduit interconnecting the high pressure and intermediate pressure chambers, a primary valve member movable toward and away from the discharge end of said conduit to control flow of gas from said high pressure chamber into said intermediate pressure chamber, a secondary valve member movable to control the flow of gas from said intermediate chamber into said low pressure chamber, a flexible diaphragm separating said fourth chamber which is subject to atmospheric pressure from said low pressure chamber, and means interconnecting said flexible diaphragm and said secondary valve member to move said secondary valve member in response to movements of said flexible diaphragm, an annular flexible partition interconnected around its outer periphery with the casing and around its inner periphery with said primary valve and thereby providing a floating mounting for said valve, and means for biasing the secondary valve to a normally open position, said secondary valve comprising an annular cylindrical portion surrounding said jet conduit and a radial flange, an endless contact ridge on the upper surface of said flange, a passage extending through the cylindrical portion of said secondary valve member leading from said intermediate chamber and opening within the portion of the upper face of said flange which is surrounded by the endless contact ridge thereon, an annular floating double valve seat surrounding said jet conduit above said secondary valve member, and a fixed surface above said floating double valve seat having an endless contact ridge projecting toward the upper face of the double valve seat member, said double valve seat member having a passage extending through it axially, and flexible means interconnected between said primary and secondary valve members and co-acting with said valve members, said double valve seat and the flexible mounting for the primary valve, to provide a partition between the intermediate chamber and the low pressure chamber at all times irrespective of the movements of said secondary valve member.

2. The device claimed in claim 1 in which said primary valve is cup-shaped, and the flexible means interconnecting the primary and secondary valve comprises a sleeve turned over on itself intermediate its ends forming two concentric parts one of which extends into said cupshaped member and is secured to it adjacent its bottom and the other of which is secured to said secondary valve member adjacent the lower end of its cylindrical portion without closing the lower end of the passage which extends through the cylindrical portion of said secondary valve member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 376,129 Anderson Jan. 10, 1888 1,797,846 Stewart Mar. 24, 1931 2,616,653 Tarr Nov. 4, 1952 2,642,701 Goodner June 23, 1953 2,677,526 Johnson May 4, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 906,242 France May 7, 1945 

